In Those You Trust
by SasukeUchihasGuardian
Summary: After targeting the Eight Tails alone for a rematch and being mortally wounded worse than before, Sasuke fights for life as Karin and Jugo attempt to save him while he's on the brink of death. Sasuke learns just how important his team really is to him while he recovers. No pairings. Rated for MILD gore and language. One-shot.


**In Those You Trust**

Sasuke was never the type to show any signs of weakness or emotions. He always hid behind an expressionless face, making it impossible for anyone, including his own team, to read him. It didn't matter the time or day or what went on. He had built up a wall around himself, not letting anyone get through.

Taka was the only exception.

Despite Suigetsu's love of ripping things to shreds with his sword, Karin's deadly obsession with him, and Jugo's random urges to kill, Sasuke knew they were the perfect team. When the time would come, they would always work together and be there for each other no matter what the situation. The Uchiha would always make sure the team was in check. He could tame Jugo when his blood came to a boil, and his curse mark would rampage wildly. He could stop Karin and Suigetsu from their constant arguing and get them to work together. Sasuke was strong willed and able to handle almost every situation that got in their way.

Which is why it was so hard for the team to accept that Sasuke was unconscious in Jugo's arms, badly beaten and bleeding from head to toe.

If only their leader hadn't been obsessed with revenge. Perhaps if he had never learned the truth about Itachi, he wouldn't be in such a rough state. He had already fought with Killer Bee once, and if it hadn't been for all three of them giving it their all the first time, he would have died more than once, if not from being stabbed by multiple swords, then from bleeding out from the man's Lariat attack. Not only him, but Suigetsu and Karin barely walked out alive from that fight. Jugo had been transformed into a kid from merging his body with Sasuke's in order to heal him.

Apparently, the Bee they captured was nothing but a clone, and even though the Akatsuki told him to forget about it, he just couldn't accept his failure. Not only that, but he was set on taking care of the man by himself.

By the time Taka had heard of his crazy decision and rushed to their leader's location, it was too late.

They arrived to find Sasuke had been struck with Lariat once again, and with no one to help him, he had smashed right into one of the large boulders the ravine was littered with. Thankfully, he hadn't plummeted off the edge, so Jugo immediately took action as he saw the all-too-familiar Jinchuuriki about to deliver his killing blow. Using his sage transformation, he created a booster on his arm, catching Bee off guard with a powerful blow to the side of the head as he had done in the previous fight.

The Jinchuuriki landed a distance away on his feet, and looked up in both surprise and amusement. He chuckled through the sword he gripped with his teeth.

"You fools came just in time! Now I can extend my rhyme! Fools, ya fools!"

Suigetsu came to Jugo's side to join into the fight, while Karin rushed over to her leader.

"Sasuke!" She cried, struggling to remove the large rocks and debris that toppled over him, knowing they would further injure the Uchiha. When she finally reached him, she realized just how bad Sasuke was. He was far beyond her help, and most likely even Jugo's, if he could even manage to merge with him a second time. Bee had either further developed his Lariat attack, or he had used more of his Tailed Beast's power, since the attack was far more powerful than last time. Not only was the skin on his chest blown away like before, but this time, it had damaged his organs more severely than last time. His ribs were clearly exposed, and everywhere from his neck down to his liver and even parts of his stomach were severely injured. He was bleeding from various areas around his body, one spot being the side of his head, which poured out the dark, fresh red fluid profusely. His breathing was labored and extremely weak, coming out in small, short gasps. Karin was thankful he was unconscious. It was only a matter of time before he'd bleed to death, and she knew if he were awake, it would only make things worse for everyone.

"Hurry Sasuke!" She hoped that in his unconscious state, she could still reach him as she slid up her sleeves to reveal her scarred arm. "You have to bite me!" She lowered towards him, and slipped her arm into his mouth as gently as she could, but in his unaware, weak state, he couldn't bite. Even if he was awake, Karin doubted he'd be strong enough to even bite down hard enough to get any chakra out of her.

"Jugo! Suigetsu! We need to hurry!" She yelled to her teammates, not daring to lift Sasuke in the condition he's in.

Suigetsu growled and lunged toward Bee with his sword, attempting to slice at his middle, but the Jinchuuriki easily dodged the blow.

"Yo! You fools think I'm gonna let you escape again? You're gonna end up like your friend!" He lunged for the two teammates, who barely had time to dodge his Lariat. The attack was different this time. Instead of a cloak of chakra surrounding Bee, it was now the bones of an ox that were covered, in order to deliver a more deadly attack. It was clear the man was done playing games with Sasuke and his teammates.

Bee charged after Suigetsu with a lightning style jab. "This will finish you, fool!" He went in for the kill, only to be blocked by Jugo's powerful Sage Transformation power. He had made his arm a shield for Suigetsu just in time.

"You annoying little bottom feeder! I hate you just as much as I hate your stupid leader, fool! Your rat's nest of hair is orange! How am I supposed to rhyme to that?" He spat. Jugo ignored him, and Suigetsu fled to the water as he used his booster to send Bee flying back again.

"Fools! The Eighth and I will take you down, you clown!" He begun transforming into his Tailed Beast.

"Jugo! Run! I'll take care of this!" Suigetsu called out to him, forming a tidal wave as he did the fight before. His sword floated besides his now naked body that merged with the water. His eyes flashed with determination.

"But, Suigetsu…"

"Don't worry! You go get Karin and Sasuke out of here! I know what to expect from him now, I can handle this!"

Jugo nodded, Suigetsu's strategy clicking, and without hesitation, rushed over to his teammate and leader. Karin shook her head. "There's no way he can take down the Eight Tails all by himself! We can't just leave him there!"

"Don't worry, I know his plan. He tends to use the water to escape once we're far enough away. He knows as well as we do he can't win."

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" They heard Bee behind them yell out in excitement as his body began morphing into giant octopus-like tentacles, size rapidly increasing to tower above the three.

"Come on, Karin! He knows what he's doing! We have to go!" Jugo urged, gently gathering Sasuke in his arm, knowing it would be too late for him if he took the time to stabilize his body now.

"You fools aren't getting away! I'll take you down right where you stay!" He began to charge a tailed beast ball, but Suigetsu sent a massive wave crashing over him, tipping him backwards and causing him to lose concentration and break his attack.

"Run!" He yelled back at them. Karin finally understood the situation. With Sasuke in Jugo's arms, she knew he would be safe, so she led Jugo out of the way of harm.

"I can't believe this. I didn't believe I was fighting for them the first time. Now lookie here. I'm at it again." Suigetsu almost chuckled at himself for sticking his neck out for them a second time. He charged at the ox once more as it stood back up, it's teeth gritted in rage.

"You fool! You remember what happened last? This gonna be over real fast! Ye-ahhh!" He howled.

Jugo and Karin could still hear the ox-rapper's voice booming, but they knew they were far enough away from him. Karin could only faintly feel his chakra, despite him taking form of the massive beast.

"Okay, this should be far enough away for now." She was panting heavily from exhaustion, but she knew this was no time to take a break.

"First thing's first, he's losing too much blood. We have to seal him back up so we can get some blood into him. He's AB, so thankfully, he can receive anything. Jugo, are you able to pull off what you did last time?"

Jugo laid Sasuke down on the ground gently. "I can, but not nearly to the same extent as I did last time. I haven't recovered yet. You haven't used any chakra, so you can help this time right?"

"Yes. If you could just repair the skin, all I need is for him to be conscious long enough for him to bite me and heal his insides. But... I am worried. His organs are so severely damaged, that even if he does wake up, it will take a lot of chakra for me just to heal some of them. There's no way I will be able to completely heal everything."

"Then only heal what is the most important, like his heart and lungs. As long as we get him stable enough, perhaps we can take him somewhere further to recover."

Karin nodded, tears coming to her eyes. "He's fading… fast. His breathing is weak and his chakra is almost nonexistent. Damn it Sasuke! Why did you have to go run off like that on your own? Jugo, help me out here. He doesn't have much time."

Jugo immediately morphed his skin with his powers, and began healing Sasuke's skin. Jugo groaned as he felt his body already beginning to change.

"Hang in there, Sasuke." Karin immediately got some basic medical supplies from her pack, hoping what she had was enough. She only knew the things Orochimaru had taught her for basic surgeries, which were far from accurate or cleanly.

"There, it's done." Jugo nodded, now panting from his own exhaustion. He could feel the heavy strain on his body from overusing his powers, and new he was in for a long recovery time himself.

"Thank you. Here," Karin handed him a wad of clothing, "press this tightly against Sasuke's head to stop the bleeding."

As Jugo did what he was told, Karin immediately started attempting to wake her leader.

"Sasuke… wake up! Come on." She shook him gently on the arm, being careful of all the various injuries Bee had caused. "Wake up! Sasuke!"

It took some time, but with gentle coaxing, she managed to get him to awaken. He moaned softly, and weakly opened his eyes. Karin could tell he wasn't focused on anything, as he gazed unfocused up at the sky. His eyes were filled with pain and confusion, and he looked as if they were watery.

Suddenly, he was thrown into a coughing fit. He cried out in pain, and blood sprayed into the air. He was trembling terribly, futilely clawing at himself and having an all out panic attack as he struggled to cling to his life. Blood splattered all over himself, as well as his teammate's, as the convulsions continued.

"Sasuke hang in there! I need you to breathe! You have to calm down so I can heal you!" Karin tried to help him, but Sasuke couldn't control his failing organs. He felt a strong, painful throb in his chest, and he reached to clutch onto it once more, but Jugo quickly pinned him down.

"He'll hurt himself further! What's going on?" Jugo cried.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" Karin cried, gritting her teeth as her determined side took over. "Sasuke! You need to bite down now!" She lowered her arm to him once again, but in his pain, he was delirious and couldn't understand anything that was going on. Karin couldn't believe what was going on. She had never seen her leader in such distress or pain. Even after his chest and organs were damaged the first time, he had only lie there in Jugo's arms in agony, panting with gritted teeth. She knew why everything was so much worse this time, but she couldn't believe she was seeing Sasuke in such a weak, helpless state.

"Jugo! We need to force Sasuke to bite down!"

"Are we going to force his jaws closed?"

"Yes… it's the only way we can do this safely." Jugo and Karin watched Sasuke cough up more blood and begin weakly crying, tears spilling down his cheeks as his organs continued failing him.

"We need to hurry." Karin waited until Sasuke's coughing began to die down, and immediately wiggled her arm into his mouth. She could feel his hot breath against her skin as he panted heavily, desperate for air his lungs couldn't take in. "Now Jugo!"

He quickly took Sasuke's jaws and as gently as he could, starting forcing them closed. Sasuke's eyes squeezed shut as his pain increased. Now unable to breath through his mouth, he started rapidly breathing through his nose. Karin noticed he was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Harder Jugo, it hasn't broken through the skin yet!" Karin fought back tears of her own as she saw them flowing from Sasuke's eyes. She and Jugo heard a small whimper escape through him as he pressed his jaw harder into Karin's skin.

"Hang in there, Sasuke!" Jugo encouraged as softly as he could, glancing at his head, which was still bleeding out since he had to abandon putting pressure on it. "Karin, he's lost too much blood!" Jugo could see Sasuke's clenched body weakening.

"I know! I can only do so much at a time!" Karin spat at him, her anxiety causing her to lash out. She suddenly cried out in pain. "There… breakthrough…" She groaned through gritted teeth. Her chakra was finally reaching Sasuke. Jugo held on for a bit longer, before slowly releasing his grip on his leader's jaw. Sasuke's grip loosened a bit, but he had gained the tiniest bit of strength back. It was just enough to allow him to maintain his bite. Jugo felt for both a pulse and a heartbeat."

"His heart is weak…" Jugo whispered.

"It's alright… with my healing chakra going out to him, he'll steady in a bit. As I said, his organs are severely damaged and it'll take a lot to heal a little. Bear with me." Karin replied. She used her free hand to hold Sasuke's head up from off of the ground and lay it in her lap. "Elevate Sasuke's legs. Keep his blood rushing to his vital organs." She ordered. Jugo did as he was told, understanding that at this point Karin was the one in charge of things.

"Karin, how much chakra do you have left?"

"Not much.. I've say I've used about two thirds of it."

"How much have you healed?"

"I'm working on both his heart and his lungs at the moment. We're going to have a serious problem if I run out of chakra and he can't breathe or pump blood through the rest of his body."

"What about the rest of it?" He asked. "His liver and stomach are also damaged."

"As long as I portion out my chakra correctly, there shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully I can manage to heal his lungs just enough for him to breathe on his own until we can get him on oxygen. I'll have his heart fully healed by the end and hopefully the rest will be close to healed in the end."

Jugo nodded, and waited for her to be done. "Karin, do you have the equipment to do a blood transfusion for him?"

"Basic supplies." She replied. "I have the needle and tubing."

"Good. I can get started on that then." Jugo said, reaching into her pack and getting the supplies out for her.

"Thank you, Jugo." She breathed, beginning to sweat from the loss of chakra. "Do you know how to do it?"

"I just need to find a vein right? But what should I bleed into?"

"Dump out my water and use that."

Jugo quickly did as he was told, grabbing her canteen and pouring out it's contents. He wasted no time grabbing a kunai and making an incision in his skin, making sure the blood drained effectively into the bottle. Once it was full, ripped a piece of his Akatsuki cloak off and tied it above his arm to stop the bleeding. He then prepared the tubing and needle.

"Find a vein." Karin ordered. Jugo gently moved Sasuke's arm, and found one. He took aim and carefully slide the needle through his arm. He saw his blood slipping through the tube into his leader, and sighed in relief.

"Thank you Jugo." Karin panted.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yes… I'm just… nearly out of chakra." She looked down at Sasuke, and found that the color was already beginning to slowly return to his face.

"He's going to be fine." Jugo rested an arm on her shoulder.

"I hope so…" She breathed.

She soon ran out of chakra, and gently removed her arm from Sasuke's bite. He groaned, his head falling to the side as he coughed out more blood in his lungs.

"I thought his lungs were healed." Jugo's eyes widened in surprise.

"They're not completely, but they're functioning. He's simply getting the blood out of them. Do you have any water left?"

The gentle giant handed her the bottle of water. She lifted Sasuke's head some more and brought it to his lips. "Here Sasuke… drink some water." She sighed in relief as her leader took in small sips. He stopped after a few, and turned his head again, avoiding Karin as he coughed up more blood, although the amount was slightly less.

"Are you conscious, Sasuke?" Jugo asked. The Uchiha panted hard, struggling for oxygen. His lungs weren't able to be healed all the way, so even though he was able to breathe, it was hard to take in what he needed. He opened his eyes halfway, revealing his tired, confused gaze. They could tell they were heavy and knew it wouldn't be long before he would no longer be conscious.

"So you are." Jugo sighed in relief. "Suigetsu diverted the Eight Tails long enough for our escape. He won't be long."

Relieved, Sasuke closed his eyes again, still breathing hard. Since his head was still in Karin's lap, she used her head to shield him from the sun. She noticed Jugo's blood was already halfway gone. She was about to lay Sasuke back down, but Jugo motioned for her to stop.

"It's okay, I can do it. I still have plenty of blood I can give." He said, untying the strip of cloth. "Besides, he needs you right now."

Karin didn't object, and watched as Jugo filled the bottle back up. Since it was fairly large, she figured topping it off would be enough blood for Sasuke. Once finished, he tied off the wound again.

"That should be all you need to do." She nodded to him.

"That's a relief." Jugo sighed, feeling the effects of the transfusion already as he began to feel dizzy. He looked back at Sasuke and Karin and noticed that she was now soaked with their leader's blood, since his head continued to bleed, although it seemed to be beginning to slow down.

"Do you have a change of clothes?" He asked.

"Yeah, I do. Don't worry about it, it's not important right now." She said. "Can you wrap his head up though?'

"Yes. I can wrap that up and his arm since it's still bleeding, but since everything else is closed, we'll treat those when we find somewhere to rest."

"Good idea." Karin agreed, watching Jugo prepare the bandages. She lifted Sasuke's head up for him as he quickly but efficiently wrapped his leader's head. Blood was already seeping through them, but it would have to do until they found somewhere to rest.

Once Jugo was done, Karin lied the Uchiha's head back down, and found that he had already fallen asleep. Karin took the opportunity to brush her thumbs over Sasuke's cheeks to wipe away his now stale tears as her teammate finished wrapping up his arm.

"It's finished." He stated, packing up Karin's bag for her. By the time he was finished, the blood transfusion was done, so he removed the needle from Sasuke's arm.

"Just leave it here. The blood will get in my pack." Karin told him, who discarded the transfusion supplies.

"We should get going. Suigetsu I'm sure will be catching up with us soon." Jugo said, noting the now silent area. The two had been so focused on Sasuke that Bee's screams and taunts ended up fading out of their minds like background noise.

"Right. It's quiet. He's either on his way now, or…"

"Let's go." Jugo interrupted her, not allowing her to think about the possibility of Suigetsu being unable to escape. Karin nodded, and allowed him to gently lift Sasuke into his arms. As she stood up, she noticed just how exhausted she was. Her legs felt like led, and she struggled to walk. She stumbled as she continued.

"Are you okay?" Jugo asked her some time later, noticing her irregular walking pattern.

"I'm fine. I overexerted myself." She shrugged. "Where are we going?"

"The nearest Akatsuki hideout is still miles away. Going to the Hidden Cloud would just be a death sentence, so I figured we'd head to the next town. It's the same place we went after Sasuke's fight with that other Akatsuki member, Deidara. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. That place." Karin nodded. "Good choice. Think they'll remember us?"

"Considering Sasuke walked in half conscious last time, I think so."

"Idiot… always getting himself in some sort of trouble." Karin huffed.

Jugo looked down at his fallen leader, and then up at the road ahead of them.

"We're almost there." He noted quietly. Karin nodded, and silently prayed her leader would be okay. She couldn't tell how his condition was without proper medical equipment with her. Suddenly, he was sent into another coughing fit that wracked his entire body, alarming his two teammates. However, there was no blood in his lungs this time to splatter over them, and after a couple of long, strenuous minutes, he settled again, his body relaxing into Jugo's arms as he fell back into deep sleep. Without a word, the two of them continued, begging the gods above that Sasuke would recover.

They were about to enter town when Karin gasped in surprise. Jugo turned and looked at her expectantly. "What is it?"

Karin breathed in relief, a small smile forming on her lips. "It's Suigetsu… I sense his chakra. He's right behind us. He made it." She never thought she'd feel so relieved he was here.

"Is he approaching fast? Should we wait?"

"We can keep walking. He'll catch up soon." Jugo nodded and the two entered the small town. It was just passed the entrance that Suigetsu finally came running. He seemed battered up and tired, but nowhere near as hurt as the two expected him to be.

"Sorry, It took awhile to hold the guy back long enough to plan my escape! So where's Sasuke?" Suigetsu looked around in confusion. Jugo and Karin turned around, and then he finally realized how dire the situation really was.

"That bad huh? Even you couldn't heal him, Karin?"

"Trust me. This is healed. I'm completely out of chakra, and he's not even fully healed." She panted.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I'll tell you later. For now, I need you to go on a medical supply run, and fast." Karin said, reaching into her pocket and digging out some money.

"Huh? But I just got here too! I just escaped from the Eight Tails and you're already having me go on a shopping run?" He groaned, pulling out his water bottle to take a couple gulps.

"Go Suigetsu. Karin and I need to stay with Sasuke, and you know it." Jugo said sternly. Suigetsu sighed, but understood his order.

"What do you want?"

"Get Sasuke a good, reliable oxygen mask, as well as lots of bandages." She ordered. "Also, get some antibiotic spray, and find some vitamins for him. He's also going to need some strong painkillers. Grab the best they have there. I don't know how it's going to go down over the next few days, so grab some sleeping aids in case he needs them. I don't care what the total comes to, just make sure you get everything."

"Are you sure he needs all of this, Karin?" Suigetsu asked. "Can't we just take him to the hospital?"

"I know what I'm doing." Karin said confidently. "Just please hurry. He especially needs that oxygen mask fast."

"Alright, alright I'm going." Suigetsu rushed off.

Before Karin and Jugo knew it, they were back at the familiar hotel. When they walked in, they noticed the same nice old lady was at the desk as last time. She gasped when she noticed Jugo carrying Sasuke in his arms.

"Oh dear! I had hoped I'd see you guys again when you were doing a little better than last time! Now he's gone and gotten himself hurt again?"

Karin gave the lady the rest of her money. "I'm afraid so. Sorry, but we are in a bit of a hurry to situate..."

"Oh dear! So sorry! I'll make sure the employees know you're here so they can bring you some extra supplies. I take it you want the same room as last time? The cheap one with the balcony and one floor futon?"

"Please ma'am, if that's available." Jugo said politely.

"Sure is. What should I put the name under?"

The two hesitated. "Karin… Karin Uzumaki." She said. They both realized saying Sasuke's name might be a bad idea, if he was known in these parts.

"Thank you Miss Karin. You can go ahead and head up there now!" She smiled sweetly.

"Thanks." Karin said, taking the lead as her and her teammates went upstairs.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Karin opened the door and walked in. The room was spotless, as if no one had ever been here before. She almost laughed at the irony, and held the door open for Jugo.

"Do you want to go wash up Jugo? I can tend to his wounds if you want." Karin offered, tying her hair back into a ponytail as Jugo lied Sasuke down onto the floor futon, above the sheets.

"That's alright Karin. Why don't you get your sleeping roll ready and either wash up or rest? You need it more than I do."

"Hn. I can't rest or go away knowing Sasuke's not out of the danger zone yet. Besides, what if your instinct to kill acts up while I'm gone? He's still unconscious."

"I can take care of him while you're gone or resting at least. After Suigetsu gets back and we set up the oxygen and give him what he needs, promise me you'll take care of yourself."

"Hey now." Karin warned, "You're not the boss of me."

Jugo chuckled lightly. "I'm only looking out for you."

Karin glanced at Sasuke, who was still panting heavily and struggling to breathe. She sighed sadly and patted his head gently. She turned over to Jugo. "I'm going to set up my bed roll. Do you want me to set yours up as well?"

"Please." Jugo smiled sadly and nodded.

"I'm setting us up one on each side of Sasuke. He'll need you more than Suigetsu. You're more caring anyway." Karin huffed, unrolling her stuff out beside Sasuke's bed.

"Suigetsu just isn't a caretaker. It's not that he doesn't care."

"I know, I know." Karin groaned, fluffing her pillow.

Jugo stood up and switched to Sasuke's other side so Karin could set his bed up next to the Uchiha. He looked down as he noticed Sasuke's breath hitch, and he coughed quietly, before taking in more deep, shaky breaths. He trembled slightly as a breeze came through the open balcony door.

"Suigetsu needs to hurry. He's cold but I can't cover him with the blanket until the bleeding stops."

"Shouldn't take long. The store is right across the street. Unless of course the idiot lost his way." She shrugs.

"I heard that Karin!" Suigetsu yelled from outside the door, pushing it open with his foot, since his hands were full of bags.

"Well you should hurry up when I tell you to! You know Sasuke's injured!"

"It's not my fault the lady in front of me in line couldn't find the medicated water." Suigetsu huffed unhappily. "Look Karin, I went as fast as I could."

Karin rushed towards him and snatched the bags, digging through their contents.

"Looks like you got everything. Good job." Karin approved, immediately taking out the oxygen supplies."

"The mask itself wasn't so bad… but the oxygen machinery itself was damn spendy!" Suigetsu groaned.

"I don't care what it costed." Karin said dismissively, hooking up the mask to the oxygen unit. Jugo secured the mask onto Sasuke's face, making sure it was fitted comfortably.

"Ready Jugo?"

"Yes."

Karin flipped the switch on, and the unit sounded to life. Sasuke's breathing finally seemed to even out as the machine helped ease the work on his lungs.

"Thank god…" Karin breathed, sitting down beside him and finally taking a break. She kicks off her shoes in the corner and lies down on her pillow.

"You weren't even the one to fight that crazy Eight Tailed Ox man, Karin. You shouldn't be talking." Suigetsu sighed, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall with his hands behind his head. "Well, I don't know about you but I'm going to take a nap." He yawned.

"Don't you care about Sasuke at all you jerk?" Karin yelled.

"No Suigetsu is right. You should both rest. You used up all of your chakra, Karin. It's okay, I can watch over him." Jugo reassures her. "After you two rest, I will take my turn."

Karin was about to protest, but a yawn escapes her before she can do so. "Alright then, Jugo. Please wake me if anything happens or changes." _Or you go on a rampage._

Jugo nodded, and Karin grabbed her bag, bringing into the bathroom with her. When she came back out, she was dressed in a more casual outfit, free of blood. She made her way into her sleeping roll, making sure she faced Sasuke. She watched him breathe in the oxygen, relieved that he can finally get the sleep he needs. She took off her glasses and her vision blurred, but she can still see her leader enough to tell if something happened to him. She sighed softly and let her body relax, slowly easing into a tired sleep.

Jugo, upon seeing his teammates finally asleep, smiled softly and removed his shoes quietly. He sat next to Sasuke, quietly noting the blood seeping through his bandages. Another cold breeze reminded him he had to finish wrapping up his wounds so he could tuck Sasuke in. He pulled out the bandages Suigetsu bought and began dressing the injuries they hadn't dealt with yet.

"There we go." Jugo whispered, "Now let's redo the bandages on your head and arm."

It didn't take long for Jugo to wrap it up. With new dressings on his body, Sasuke relaxed more in his sleep. Jugo smiled, relieved he can help his leader. He pulled the blanket over him, making sure he was going to be warm enough throughout the night. He swore he would never let him die, and that was just what he was planning on doing. He sat back, waiting on his teammates to wake up.

Hours passed, and no one had done as much as stir. Jugo sat patiently, watching over Sasuke devotedly as the sun began to set. Considering it wasn't even noon when they found the Uchiha barely alive, he knew everyone was exhausted and needed sleep. Even Suigetsu, who normally was a light sleeper, hadn't moved. Jugo sighed softly and checked on his leader's oxygen levels.

Suddenly, Sasuke gave a small twitch. Jugo immediately perked up at this.

"Are you awake, Sasuke?" Jugo whispered, hopeful he could finally have an opportunity to talk to him.

No response.

Disappointed, the man contemplated on what he was going to do. He was sure his teammates would sleep through the rest of the night at this rate.

_I'll change his bandages…_ He thought, _I know he doesn't need them changed…. but I'm just so worried…_

He placed a hand on Sasuke's forehead to begin undoing the wrappings, when he suddenly gasped. The Uchiha's forehead was burning with fever. Jugo grit his teeth, knowing this was a sign of infection in him. He looked to Karin, but knew she needed rest in order to recover her chakra.

"Damn it…" Jugo whispered, quickly removing the bandages. He knew he had to act fast and help him fight off the fever before it got too high. Walking into the bathroom quickly, he wetted down a cold rag and returned to his fallen leader. He gently placed the cold rag over his forehead, resting a hand over it to make sure it wouldn't fall.

Sasuke gave a quiet moan, and shivered underneath his blankets, squeezing his eyes shut tight, Jugo repositioned the blanket over him, before going and closing the door. He also pulled the blinds shut more, so the room was darker, hopefully making it easier for the Uchiha to settle.

"I'm sorry I can't do more for you Sasuke." Jugo apologized upon returning, "I wish I could take away your pain."

He sat in silence, waiting on his leader's fever to break, or at the very least lessen. He could tell that it was abnormally high, and he would need more than what he could offer. As much as he hated waking his teammates up for help, he knew that would be the safest way to go.

Jugo gently shook Karin. "Hey, wake up."

Immediately, she shot up in bed and turned to look at Sasuke. "What happened?"

"He's got a fever. I think he has an infection." Jugo stated, nodding towards the rag on his forehead.

Karin sighed and made her way to Sasuke. Using her Mystical Palm Technique, she hovered glowing green hands over his chest, examining him.

"Karin… I didn't know you could do that. I never thought you were an actual medic nin."

"I'm nowhere near the level of a medic nin. I can't heal very efficiently this way, but it comes in handy considering I can only use my Heal Bite once a day." She shrugged. "I mostly use it to figure out what's wrong with someone."

Jugo waited patiently for her analysis. He was worried sick about his leader and just wanted him to be better. He wanted things to be back to normal again. He had to make sure Kimimaro's successor was safe.

"There seems to be an infection in his heart. Considering he's still healing and very weak, this is not good." Kairn said seriously. "Suigetsu! Wake up!" She yelled. Her loud voice made both Suigetsu and Sasuke jump in their sleep. The Uchiha groaned, his head lolling to the side weakly. Suigetsu, on the other hand, jolted awake suddenly.

"What the hell do you want, you crazy woman?" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Sasuke's got a serious infection in his heart. Left untreated, there is no way he's going to survive. His temperature has already skyrocketed." She gritted her teeth. "He needs antibiotics, and fast. Suigetsu, I need you to go get some from the nearest hospital."

"Huh? Hey wait, without a patient there is no way they'll just hand over antibiotics to some random guy!" He argued.

"I understand that, Suigetsu. Sneak in. Break in. I don't care how you do it, but you have to get some." Karin bit her lip, tasting a bit of blood.

"Fine, fine… I'll be back." He groaned, standing up and stretching out his arms. "Keep him hydrated while I'm gone."

"Obviously." Karin groaned, "You think I don't know that? Damn, all you think about is water."

Suigetsu chose to ignore her, and stepped out without another word. Jugo sighed heavily, grabbing the wet cloth from Sasuke's head.

"I'm going to get this wet again." He announced, turning and heading for the bathroom. Karin said nothing, attempting to heal the infection with her Mystical Palm. Without much skill in it, however, she failed in doing a thing. Instead, she focused on trying to bring down his fever until Jugo returned.

The gentle giant carefully placed the cold rag over Sasuke's forehead. "Can't you wait until tomorrow and use your Heal Bite to fix it?"

"I could… except, in the condition Sasuke's in… I'm not sure he'd live through this…" She trailed off, feeling helpless in the situation.

"I see… in that case, don't worry about it. It's nighttime, so Suigetsu should have no problem sneaking into the hospital."

"I know." Karin narrowed her eyes as she noticed water streaking down Sasuke's face from the rag. She wiped the droplets away and turned the rag over, assuring the coldest part was always touching the Uchiha's forehead.

"Jugo… have you slept at all yet? I suppose not, since you vowed to stay awake to watch Sasuke."

"No I haven't… but…" Jugo turned and looked at him with worry in his eyes, "I can't sleep. Not with him like this."

Karin sighed. "You really should get some sleep. You won't do him any good if you're too exhausted to do anything."

"I'll try a little later. At the very least I want him to wake up before I do. I need to make sure he's okay."

"I understand." Karin yawned, stretching out her arms in the air.

"Go back to sleep, Karin." Jugo told her, "I can give Sasuke the antibiotics when Suigetsu returns."

"But I need to stay with Sasuke!" She protested.

"Karin, you're the only one out of the three of us that can heal him. What good will it do if you're too exhausted to use any chakra?"

She sat uncomfortably, and shifted uneasily at the idea.

"Besides," Jugo smiled, "I'll wake you again if I need you."

With those justifications in mind, Karin nodded, sliding back into her bedroll. "Thanks… Goodnight Jugo."

"Night." Jugo said, too focused on Sasuke to make an effort.

As Karin drifted off again, Jugo flipped the rag on the Uchiha's head again, noticing it would need to be wetted again soon. He sighed heavily, watching his leader's evened breaths as he continued to sleep.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you more." Jugo whispered to him, knowing it would reach deaf ears. His gaze trailed down to Sasuke's chest, seeing the bandages wrapped around where he knew was a serious injury just underneath. He felt so helpless knowing he was suffering greatly and there was nothing he could do about it.

A small cough from the Uchiha jolted his attention, and he glanced back up to find Sasuke weakly lifting a hand to his oxygen mask.

"No Sasuke, leave it on. It's helping you breathe." Jugo ordered gently, carefully taking his leader's wrist and slowly prying it away from the mask. Sasuke tensed for a second, stilling his entire body. Jugo considered the fact that in his hazy mind he could believe he was taken hostage. Then, his onyx eyes slowly fluttered opened, revealing dazed black orbs. He was finally awake once again. His eyes slowly examined the room around him, too weak to fully take in where he was or what was happening. Jugo felt it was if Sasuke were drugged. He decided it would be best to talk to his leader and tell him what was going on. He obviously couldn't think clearly.

"Sasuke, can you hear me?' Jugo asked softly, watching the Uchiha's head slowly turn over to face him. He blinked slowly, and the gentle giant could tell it was a mix of tiredness and confusion. "Do you remember your fight with Killer Bee?"

A pause. Then, a small, barely noticeable nod.

"You were hurt very badly. Your organs were damaged. Karin and I healed you as much as we could. Your lungs are still damaged, which is why you have the oxygen mask on. Do you understand?"

Sasuke didn't respond, but instead closed his eyes for a long period of time. Jugo thought he had fallen back asleep, until his head lolled to the other side, and he slowly opened them again to look at Karin at his other side, who was still fast asleep in her sleeping roll.

"You're heart and liver and stomach were also affected. You need to take it easy for awhile and rest. No moving. No breathing heavily. No getting stressed out." Jugo ordered, making sure his leader knew his place. For now, he was going to be Sasuke's leader, as long as he needed to be until he was healed. It was his responsibility, since the Uchiha was his savior from the darkness.

Sasuke coughed weakly, and turned his head back to Jugo. "W-why…" His voice was so soft and weak Jugo almost couldn't hear him.

"Why what?"

"W-why… did… you come back… for me…" He was fighting to even be able to speak. Jugo wondered if the attack had possibly injured his vocal cords.

"You're our leader, Sasuke. You may have done something stupid, but we all care about you. Even Suigetsu." He smiled softly. "He's out sneaking into a hospital to get you some antibiotics as we speak."

Sasuke said nothing, but closed his eyes again. In his feverish, weakened state, Jugo figured it must be hard to keep his eyes opened. He weakly tried to pull the covers up higher, but the orange haired man took over, positioning it comfortably over his shoulders.

"What is your pain level at, Sasuke?" He asked, remembering Karin had ordered Suigetsu to get him painkillers.

Sasuke thought about it a moment, and weakly opened his eyes again, although only halfway. He stared up at the ceiling, seemingly fixated on nothing. "Eight…" He whispered quietly.

"We have some painkillers for you if you'd like to take them."

Contrary to what Jugo thought he would say, Sasuke weakly rejected them. "No…" he whispered quietly.

"Why Sasuke? They'll help the pain and reduce your fever." He tried to reason, but the Uchiha didn't answer. Jugo noticed that through the heavy zoning his leader was doing, his eyes were getting very heavy. They were already half shut, and with every slow blink, they'd open a little less.

Jugo sighed softly, knowing Sasuke was losing his battle to sleep. He patted his hair gently and tucked the blanket securely around him more, making sure he would be warm enough throughout the night. "Goodnight Sasuke. Sleep well."

He watched as his leader's eyes finally slipped shut.

As his leader's breaths evened out with the help of the oxygen, Jugo couldn't help but notice how Sasuke finally accepted the help of his team. He finally allowed himself to show emotion to them, and to be weak and need help. To Jugo, it felt like a great prize he had won. Sasuke would never know how much he meant to the gentle giant, as he was supposed to be Kimimaro's reincarnation. Jugo kept his promise to protect him at all costs, but what felt even more accomplishing, was seeing his leader finally opening up to them all.

And as for Sasuke, who drifted off to sleep so peacefully, he knew he had found close friends in his team. They would watch over him while he was weak, and protect him when he was down. They risked their lives to save his. Although he was cold, he would always have a warm spot for Taka.

Through the rest of the night, Sasuke dreamed of his team. He dreamt of when he first met Karin, when she healed him after a rough battle with Orochimaru. He had nearly died then, and when Kabuto began to panic, her red blur of hair went into his line of vision, and when he did what he was told and bit down, her form finally came to view. He thanked her breathlessly before Orochimaru whisked him away for more training.

He dreamt of the time Kabuto made him watch Suigetsu and Jugo in a fight. He remembered his interest in both of their powers.

He dreamt of the time he finally got the team together, when he finally revealed Hebi's goal.

But most of all, he dreamt about his fights with the Eight Tails. How in his half conscious state Karin yelled at him to bite her after being stabbed with his swords. How Jugo caught him midair when he was sent flying by Bee's first lariat attack. How they all risked their lives for him over and over again.

Throughout the next few days, Sasuke would fade in and out of consciousness as fevers and infections took over his body. He'd wake up deliriously to Jugo or Karin standing over him, whispering words of comfort and doing their best to heal him. He'd fall asleep into the depths of nightmares, where Orochimaru would take over his body or torture him for eternity. Itachi's truth would would turn out to be a lie, and he'd sit and watch the death of his family thousands of time in delusional horror, until he'd be awoken by one of his teammates, alerting him it was just a bad dream. Regardless of who it was, they would usually sit with him until he'd fall asleep once more, each having their own personal touch. Karin would hold his hand and rub the top of it with her thumb to soothe him. Jugo would make sure he was tucked in tight. Suigetsu, who was always the least caring anyway, would simply make sure he didn't have a fever and sometimes ask if he needed anything.

Sasuke, although he would never admit it, found these things comforting.

Rehabilitation from the fight lasted a couple months, but when Sasuke finally recovered, he was just as healthy as before thanks to his caring teammates. He didn't give a single thank you or any sign of appreciation, but everyone knew he didn't have to. The gestures he gave while sick and down were plenty for them all. Now, as he finally could allow himself to function normally, his regular uncaring, cold demeanor returned to him. The team packed up their things without a word to their leader as he dressed to leave the hotel permanently.

As he removed the bandages around his chest, and swallowed his very last pill, he signaled for his team to follow him without a word. He led them to a distant mountain's edge and faced into the distance, where through the endless tree tops, the faces of past Hokage were carved into stone miles away. He clenched his fists tightly, and a hawk took towards the sky just in front of them, some prey squeezed firmly in its talons. It gave a wild screech as it noticed the team and spread its wings, soaring above them as if it was waiting for orders. Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo all looked at Sasuke expectantly, waiting for the leader to speak. When he finally spoke, he did so without taking his eyes off of his previous home. His voice was filled with hate and anger as he growled,

"We will destroy the Leaf Village."

**-End**

**Sorry if the ending seemed random and abrupt. This was going to be a two or three chaptered story but found that I can't commit to anything longer than a one-shot right now, so I had to shorten it. And the randomness? Well that's just because I suck at them.**

**I still hope you enjoyed though. Please review, as they really help motivate me in my writing.**

**Best Wishes,**

**~SasukeUchihasGuardian**


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